1. Technical Field
The invention relates generally to a rocking assembly for use with cradles, cribs, carrier seats or similar infant or child support structures. More particularly, the invention relates to such a rocking assembly which is used in combination with a sound producing device for producing music or other sounds appropriate to facilitate the calming and/or sleeping of an infant or child. Specifically, the invention relates to such a rocking assembly which is capable of producing complex movements which are synchronized with the music or other associated sounds.
2. Background Information
Rocking assemblies for use with infants and small children are well-known in the art and some of them include sound producing devices which may produce music, white noise or various sounds that are intended to simulate the sounds heard by a fetus when in the mother's womb. A variety of rocking mechanisms are known in the art which are driven by electric motors. Several of these rocking mechanisms utilize a rotating wheel with a translating rod attached thereto whereby rotational movement of the wheel is translated to a vertical up and down motion of the translating rod in order to move a portion of the infant support structure to produce a rocking movement thereof. For example, such rocking mechanisms are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,095 granted to Adachi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,949 granted to Jantz and U.S. Pat. No. 5,806,113 granted to McMahan et al. The latter patents include a motion detector to sense movement of a small child within a cradle such that the child's movement activates a tape player to play for a predetermined period of time.
In addition, rocking mechanisms are known which utilize rotating cams in order to produce a rocking movement. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,656,680 granted to Wilson discloses upper and lower members pivotally connected to one another with a rotating cam mounted on the base for pivoting the upper member in an oscillating manner to produce the rocking movement. U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,045 granted to Caster et al. also uses rotating elliptical cams to produce a rocking movement. In particular, Caster et al. utilize three cams for respectively pivoting an upper member about three axes. Neither of these patents utilizes a sound producing device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,138 granted to Munster discloses a baby crib with a bed frame assembly supported on a base platform by flexible straps to produce a swinging apparatus driven by a rotating member via tension springs connected thereto. Munster does not disclose a sound producing device. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,353 granted to Sachathamakul teaches a rocking base pivotally mounted on a semi-hemispherical member wherein a rotating T-bar has weighted members on either end thereof in order to rock the rocking base about the pivot during rotation of the T-bar. This patent mentions the possibility of using a sound producing device, specifically referencing U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,912 granted to Hughes, which discloses a sound producing device for producing womb-like sounds and which is free of any connection to a power source. The Hughes device is configured to fit within an interior chamber of a specially configured mattress for a baby crib.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,010 granted to Gross et al. discloses a rocker device for a crib wherein each of the four legs of the crib are received in a rollable holder. Three of the rollable holders are rollable on a non-slip base and the fourth is also rollable on a base and driven back and forth by a motor which translates rotational movement to horizontal movement of the rollable holder. The movement produced by this rocking mechanism is horizontal only. Gross et al. further disclose a tape recorder for playing music or other sounds such as a mother's voice to facilitate pacification of the baby.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,997 granted to Skakas discloses a rocking mechanism which includes a top which is moveable with respect to a base and is adapted for receiving thereon a child support structure in the form of a hammock-type configuration. One embodiment involves a base which has arcuate portions on which rollers of the top are rollably seated so that a drive mechanism moving the top in a substantially horizontal direction creates a rocking movement. A second embodiment utilizes a plurality of spring units mounted on a base with the infant support structure mounted atop the spring units whereby movement of the infant creates the rocking movement via the spring units reacting to the movement of the infant. Skakas also discloses a sound producing device for producing a heart beat sound.
Also known in the art is a crib vibrator and sound generator sold under the name SleepTight®. This product comprises two separate units, a vibration unit which mounts on the bottom of the crib below the mattress and a sound generator unit which mounts on the side railing of a crib. The basic concept is to simulate the sound and motion of a car going 55 mph. More particularly, the vibration unit produces the common vibration sound of an operating car engine while the sound generator produces a white noise which simulates the wind sound from a moving car. This product is a crib vibrator as opposed to a rocking mechanism.
Aside from the crib vibrator just discussed, the patents noted above generally teach rocking mechanisms which produce a regular and generally smooth movement. Some of these teach a strict oscillating movement back-and-forth either in a single plane or back-and-forth movement which involves both horizontal and vertical movement more similar to that of a standard rocker. The Caster et al. patent further allows for pivotal movement about three axes while the Sachathamakul provides for multi-directional pivoting about a central pivot on the bottom of a rocking base. However, none of these patents teach a rocking or oscillating movement which can be interrupted in a manner to produce a jerky or bumpy type of movement. Such bumpy or jerky types of movements are well-known with regard to the movement of a vehicle such as a car on a bumpy road or a train moving along a track. In addition, the references noted herein fail to disclose a sound producing device wherein the rocking mechanism and the sound producing device are operated in a synchronized manner. In addition, there is a need in the art for a rocking device which may be easily used with a variety of different infant support structures such as carrier seats, strollers, cribs and the like.